Piano practice-pedal



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sh t 1.

' G. B. SHEARER.

PIANO PRACTICE PEDAL.

No. 503,880. Patented Aug. 22, 1893.

v 'ZWII/Al /IAJ!WWMMIIMIMIIIWWIIMIMM (No Model.) 2. Sheets-She6t 2.

I e. B. SHEARER. PIANO PRACTICE PEDAL.

I Patented Au 22,1893;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE BENTON SHEARER, OF ONEONTA, NEWV YORK.

PIANO PRACTICE-PEDAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,880, dated August22, 1893. Application filed December 1, 1892. Serial No. 453,771. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE BENTON SHEAR- ER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oneonta, in the county of Otsego and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PianoPractice-Pedals; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in pianos, and it has for itsobject the improved construction of a muffler whereby an instrument canbe used in long continued practicing without annoying the unwillinghearers who are compelled to stay in the immediate neighborhood, byincessant playing; which will serve to preserve the hammers and stringsfrom injury to which they are necessarily liable from the continuous useincident to such practice; and which will in no way affect the qualityof the music so far as its practice features are concerned, other thanto greatly decrease its strength of sound; and furthermore, which willnot in any way interfere with the ordinary use of the instrument.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of partshereinafter particularly described and then sought to be clearly definedby the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of referencedesignate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pianoembodying the invention, only so much of the instrument being shown,however, as is necessary for the proper illustration. Fig. 2 is atransverse vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is adetail view showing the drop-bar and the muffler connected thereto, andthe system of levers whereby the drop bar is operated, being broken awayin certain portions. Fig. 4 is a detail view, showing the drop-bar andthe swings and lover connected directly withthe same, the drop-bar beingshown as supporting the muffler in its operative position, in fulllines, and in a raised position in dotted lines. Fig. 5 is a sideelevation of the same.

The invention is shown and described as being applied to an uprightpiano, but it is obvious however, that it can be applied to other styleswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A designates the casing of anupright piano, B the strings and O the key-board, all constructed andarranged in the usual manner.

D designates the drop-bar to which the muffler E, of felt, cloth,leatheror other analogous material is attached. It is supported or suspended bythe swings e and e, pivoted to each end of the bar respectively and tothe lugs e and 6 These lugs project from the metal plate e of the pianoand are either formed integral with the same or made separate andattached in any suitable manner, and have their outer faces to which theswings are pivoted, beveled for a purpose which will be explainedfarther on. This attachment of the drop-bar will allow the latter to beeasily moved to the side and downward and at the same time toward thestrings to the position shown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, and infull lines as shown in Figs. 4: and 5. The muffier so interposed will bein a position to be struck by the hammers and through it the blows willbe given to the strings. It will in no way interfere with the operationof the various parts as it swings clear of them.

The mechanism for moving the muffler will now be described. F designatesa lever piv oted to the under side of the key-board in the hanger f, insuch a position that its inner end will extend to a central position andthe outer end to a position beneath the right hand end of the drop barD. A vertical rod G is pivoted at its lower end to the outer end of thelever F and is connected at its upper end with the end of the drop-barby the swing or link H which is pivoted to the said rod and to thedrop-bar at the pivotal point of the swing or link 6' with said dropbar. Guides I I serve to hold the rod G in its proper upright position.To the underside of the key-board,botween it and the inner end of thelever F, a spring J is secured, which presses upon the lever and will,normally, through the several connections, hold the drop-bar in araisedposition. Intermediate of the loud and soft pedals K and K respectively,a third or practice pedal K is pivoted. It has attached to its inner endthe rod 7:, which is attached at its upper end to the inner end ofthelever F. By means of this pedal, the lever F can be raised againstthe action of the spring J, and thereby through the intermediateconnections, lower the muffler to a position to perform its function. Acatch L is pivoted in the hanger Z to the under side of the keyboard andis pressed by the spring Z toward the inner end of the lever F, so thatwhen the latter is raised it will be caught by the catch and be held inthe elevated position. To release the catch, a link L connects it withthe rod Z of the pedal K, so that when the latter is depressed, the rodbeing forced upward, the catch, through the link L, will be disengagedfrom the lever I allowing the muiiler to assume its normal position. Ifit is desired to mute the string 5, by pressing down upon the pedal K soas to pull down the rod G farther than is required to merely muffle thestrings by interposing the felt, the muffler can be pressed against thestrings and held there by pressure of the foot on the pedal. The slotsin the guides I I through which the rod G passes will be elongated so asto allow a side movement or play to the upper end of the rod sufficientto accommodate the swinging of the drop-bar D; and washers M, of felt orother suitable material,are preferably placed between the swing H andthe drop bar D and bar G at the points of juncture between said parts soas to cushion the parts at such points as the joints at such points areloose so as to permit them to accommodate themselves to the necessarymovements. In practice the rod G will stand about one inch, more orless, from the iron plate of the case, and the distance of the drop barD from the strings will be about three eighths of an inch farther fromthem than when drawn down into position for muiiiing the strings. Thelength of the studs or posts a and c and the distance of the swings andconnected parts from the strings are somewhat exaggerated in thedrawings for the purpose of clearness in illustration but the properdistance will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The swings willpreferably be made of light spring steel so as to yield somewhat in themovement of the drop-bar to and from the strings.

I have shown and described springs for moving in one direction the leverand the locking catch but it is to be understood that the term springincludes its equivalents.

I do not confine myself to the particular details shown and describedwhen they can be changed without departing from the essential featuresthereof.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claimis- 1. In a piano the combination of a drop-bar having a muffler securedthereto supported by means capable of movement downwardly,longitudinally and inwardly to move the muftier downward, inward andlaterally lengthwise, and mechanism for moving said dropbar and muffler,substantially as described.

2. In a piano, the combination of a drop bar having a muffler securedthereto, links pivoted above and below said bar and having their endsnext to the bar secured thereto to permit the bar to move downward andlaterally lengthwise, and mechanism for moving said bar, substantiallyas and for the purposes described.

3. In a piano, the combination of a drop-bar having a muffler securedthereto, links pivoted above and below said bar and having their endsnext to the bar secured thereto to permit the bar to move downward,inward and laterally lengthwise, and mechanism for moving said bar,substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In a piano, the combination of a drop-bar having a mulfler securedthereto adapted to be thrown between the hammers and the strings, thepedal, the spring pressed intermediate lever the rods connecting theends of said lever with the pedal and drop-bar respeetively, and thespring catch adapted to engage with an end of the said lever to lock itin a position to hold the mufller between the hammers and strings,substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a piano, the combination of a drop bar having the muflier securedthereto adapted to be thrown between the hammers and the strings, thepedal, the spring pressed intermediate lever, the rods connecting theends of said lever with the pedal and drop-bar respectively, theautomatic catch adapted to engage with an end of the said lever to lockit in a position to hold the muffler between the hammers and strings,the second pedal rod, and the link connecting the said pedal rod nearthe upper end with the catch, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

6. In a piano, the combination of a drop-bar having a muffler securedthereto adapted to be thrown between the hammers and the strings, thepedal, the intermediate levers-upported beneath and adjacent to thekey-board and automatically movable in one direction, and connected atone end with the drop bar, the rod connecting the other end of said 10-ver with the pedal, an automatic catch lo cated adjacent to the keyboard and adapted to engage with an end of the said lever to lock it ina position to hold the mut'ller between the hammers and the strings, thesecond pedal IIO rod, and means for connecting said rod with oted to thebeveled faces of the latter, and

the automatic catch to release the catch from mechanism for moving thedrop-bar, substanengagement with the lever, substantially as tially asdescribed.

and for the purposes described. In testimony whereof I aifix mysignature in 5 7. In a piano the combination of the droppresence of twowitness.

bar the mnflier secured thereto, the llwshav- 1 inghzheir faces beveledlocated one abo ve and GILORGE BENTON SHEARER' one below the drop-barand adjacent to the Witnesses: ends of the same, the swings connectingthe DELos HOWE KELLEY, 1o ends of the drop-bar with the lugs being piv-DOUGLAS WINSLOW MILLER.

